With Broken Hands and Withered Souls
by boosie1075
Summary: Another "Mary-Sue" type story. I decided to write my own version of this already overly done plot because I didn't necessarily like what was out there and wanted to put my own spin on it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I do truly appreciate reviews!
1. Chapter 1

Nota bene: in this story the boys are a bit older than in the book and movie. In my story they are between 16 and 19, so imagine them looking and acting older.

Chapter 1

**Squid's POV**

We've been digging these damn holes for too long. It's the hottest part of the day; hopefully Pendanski will be bringing lunch here soon. I climbed out of my hole when I saw the water truck headed our way. We lined up and as customary I made sure Magnet stayed in his place. Don't get me wrong, I liked the kid and everything, but the boy needs to learn his place in line. Once we was all filled up we lounged around and ate.

"Hey man, you know what I would love right now?" said Magnet.

"Some shade?" Zigzag asked.

"Good food?" said Armpit.

"Nah man, a girl."

"Haha yeah man, I ain't seen a girl in like a year." I felt bad for X-ray, him being here so long and all. I hadn't been here that long but man would I love to see a girl. You know, just to talk to one and hold one and...wait, nah I can't be thinking that stuff. I would never tell the rest of the guys that. Camp Green Lake had upped their age limit to 21 which meant most of us would be staying here longer. So I'm still here, at 19. And most of these boys here are around my age. You know, that age when you actually miss girls.

"The Warden's a girl." Stupid Caveman.

"Hey man, she don't count." The 'yeahs' from the other guys backed up my point. We commenced into a conversation about how great it would be to well have, for lack of a better word (and I don't mean _that_ kinda way, though it would be more than nice), a girl.

"Besides, I'm talking about a pretty girl." Magnet said.

"Man, you couldn't even get a pretty girl to look your way. Have you seen this guy's face?" Zig said. We all burst out laughing. Yeah, it can't just be any girl. I want a pretty girl.

"Hey look!" Sure enough, there was a bus out in the distance, kicking up more of this damn dust. We all wondered who it could be. There was always some sorta curiosity about new kids. Eventually we all got back to digging and slaving away under the hot sun. It all seemed to last longer and become more depressing as I thought about what I thought would be the perfect girl and realizing it would never happen. Stupid Magnet.

**The New Kid's POV**

The bus was hot and the handcuffs latched to my wrists were irritating. I tried to pay them no mind as I stared into the sandy abyss that was to constitute my new home for the next long while. I've been trying not to think about it for too long. The landscape suddenly became a dusty moon crater; holes dotted the horizon and my curiosity piqued. Eventually the bus stopped near some sand-blown old buildings, the officer uncuffed me and led me off the bus whence I immediately heard the words "Fresh meat!" being shouted. Then, the cat calls and whistling started by the few boys who were sitting around. This was going to be rough. I knew that this was an all boys camp, but I still hadn't fully prepared myself emotionally or mentally. The officer shooed me into a small room with a intimidating looking man spitting out sunflower seeds.

"Eleanor Anne Stark. Fancy name. My name is Mr. Sir. Whenever you speak to me you will call me by my name. Is that clear?" He had to be kidding right? I was too scared to do anything but stare straight ahead, however.

"Yes, Mr. Sir." He stood up and eyed me suspiciously.

"This isn't girl scout camp, missy. Just cause you're a girl don't mean you get special treatment." He then proceeded to hand a cold drink to the officer and taunted me with it by asking if I was thirsty. I refused to oblige him and he just eyed me again.

"Now, you know you're the only girl here and the only girl whose ever been here. So watch yourself. Now, the only special treatment you get is that you can shower in the warden's house cause the showers aren't decent for a girl."

Mr. Sir lead me outside, where I stood uncomfortably in the sun. I felt all the eyes of the boys on me and wanted to shrink into nothing. Damn my lack of self-confidence.

"Look around you, Stark. What do you see? Any guard towers? How 'bout an electric fence? Hm?"

I peeked around. "No Mr. Sir."

"You wanna run away, missy? Go 'head, start running. I won't stop ya." He then yelled at some boy leaning in a door frame. The kid quickly scuttled inside. This whole situation was making me nervous, especially once I eyed his gun.

"Oh don't worry. This here's for yellow spotted lizards. I wouldn't waste a bullet on you." Wow, touching. I'm not even worth a bullet. "Decided not to run?"

"No Mr. Sir."

"That's good thinking Stark. You wanna know why?" I'm guessing it was because this is the only source of water and refuge in a vast expanse of desert, but I wasn't about to tell him that. "We got the only water for 100 miles. Our own little oasis. You wanna run away, them buzzards will pick ya clean by the end of the third day."

Well, seems I was right about one thing. He then led me into another rickety building where a tall boy stood behind a counter. He immediately dropped what he was doing, very obviously eyed me up and down and smirked at me. Mr. Sir threw boots and clothes at me. He then motioned to another room off to the side. "Put these on, in there." I quickly did as he instructed. The jumpsuit was not only hideous, but baggy too so I kept my tank top on underneath it and only buttoned it up part way. I stepped out.

"You get two sets of clothes, one for work and one for relaxation. After three days your work clothes will be washed and your relaxation clothes become your work clothes." Gross! "You are to dig one hole each day, if you can even do that, missy." He smirked at me. "5 foot deep, 5 foot in diameter. Your shovel is your measuring stick. Longer you dig, longer you're out in the sun. Understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Sir." I hugged my bag and clothes to my chest.

"Keep alert for lizards and rattlesnakes." Great, just what I needed. However, I didn't want him to think I was some wimpy girl so I simply said, "Yes, Mr. Sir" and left it at that. All of a sudden the dorkiest looking man I have seen in a long time appeared out of nowhere.

"Eleanor Anne Stark, I want you to know that just because you have done some bad things that does not make you a bad kid. I respect you." This is bullshit. "Welcome to Camp Green Lake." He shook my hand to vigorously for my liking. "I'm your counselor, Dr. Pendanski." Oh I highly doubted that he was a real doctor.

"You can call me Anne," I offered. He smiled too broadly and I tried to return it but my smile was probably very obviously forced.

Pendanski led me outside. "Very well Anne. You'll be in D-Tent. D stands for diligence. And don't worry, this is a nice group of boys. They won't try anything." I breathed a small sigh of relief but still felt apprehensive because this guy seemed like an idiot, and I didn't trust him. "Over there is the warden's cabin, where you will be showering." He walked rather fast for a short little man and I had to rush to keep up with him.

"Wait, I shower in Mr. Sir's house?!" The sudden realization dawned on me.

"Oh, he's not the warden. The warden is Lou and she's a girl." I relaxed as much as I could, but more and more boys had filled the camp ground and I felt like I was being nearly eye raped. All of a sudden three boys who appeared to be around my age sauntered around the corner. One was heavy and black, one was white and wearing some sort of a rag around his head, and the other was black and wore glasses. All of them were filthy; covered head to toe in dirt. When they got close to me they stopped, stood agape and stared for what seemed like forever. I felt very self-conscious again and stared at the ground.

**Squid's POV**

Oh my god. Magnet's psychic. A girl. There's a girl. A real girl and she's standing in front of me and damn is she beautiful. I felt bad cause I could tell she was nervous cause she kept her head down and I couldn't see her face cause all her hair was in the way. It was long and pretty and brown and I kinda wanted to touch it.

"Boys, this is Anne. She'll be staying with you. Now, since she's the first girl here at camp, you boys be nice. Look out for her." She didn't look up yet.

"Anne," her head snapped up and she looked at us shyly. And she had the prettiest blue-green eyes I had ever seen. "This is Rex, Alan and Theodore." I grimaced at him using my name.

"Yo, my name ain't Rex, it's X-ray. That's Squid and this is Armpit." She nodded and let out a small hi. She was really really beautiful and obviously timid.

"Him, he's Mom." She grinned slightly at my comment and Mom looked offended.

"I prefer to use their real names, the names society will recognize them by."

"Yeah, whatever Mom."

"Why don't you show her where she'll be sleeping. Alan, you can be her mentor. Show her around and get her acquainted with camp here." I smiled. This was really the best day ever. The guy upstairs was finally giving me a break. X-ray and Armpit didn't looked ever so slightly jealous. Mom led us all into the tent.

"Anne, you sleep here." He pointed to the extra cot we had and she crinkled her nose a bit. Mom started going on about keeping our spaces clean and how we should be respectful and I noticed she wasn't listening to a word he was saying. What really made me nearly laugh was how deadpan her face would get every time he would address her and how annoyed she looked by him. Maybe she would be alright. Finally Mom left and we all kinda just stared at her for a bit. I mean, we were just talking about how we missed girls and here was one, living with us! We didn't really know what to do.

"Woah!" Magnet and Zigzag let out a huge gasp and literally walked around her in a circle when they walked in. That really made her tense up.

"Hi, I'm Anne." She let out a small smile.

"I'm Magnet, this is Zigzag." They continued to stare at her when Caveman and Zero walked in. They had the same reaction.

"Alright, so Mom said I can be her mentor." I said smugly and they all groaned. Yes, God was finally answering a prayer. "So, I'm gonna shower, then I'll show you 'round." Zigzag and most of the rest of the guys followed suit, except Armpit of course. I figured I had better shower so I didn't smell so bad around her. Apparently everyone else thought the same.

When we got back she was sitting on her very neatly made cot. Her bag was at the end and Armpit had struck up a conversation with her.

"Alright, come on girly. I'll show you around." I was trying real hard not to be mean, but not go super soft so as to get teased by the other guys also.

"Hey man, how come you get to do it?" Armpit said.

"Cause Mom said so. Besides, she don't wanna be around someone who don't shower." We all laughed at this, even she laughed and when she did we all looked at her. Well that made her immediately go quiet and looked down. I went and stood next to her cot.

"C'mon." She stood up and I realized how much shorter she was than me. She was maybe 5'1 or 5'2. Super little. Anyways, the whole tent followed us out and jumped in whenever I pointed something out to her. I could point out the wreck room and literally every single guy would find some bit of information to add, just for the sake of talking to her. It was starting to get on my nerves.

"And that's the water spigot over there. Say, did Mr. Sir give you a canteen?"

"Uh, if you want to call the disgusting and used plastic bottle he gave me a canteen, then yes." We all laughed at that. She was alright. The dinner bell rang and we all filed up for that nasty shit they pass off as food.

When we walked in the whole room went nearly silent with whispers as all the guys eyed Anne up and down. Needless to say it made her visibly uncomfortable, but I knew no one would try anything since she was walking between Zig and I. Once we sat down they all went back to talking and eating, the only difference was that they kept looking at her. I don't blame them; she was real easy on the eyes.

"Alright girly, you sit here." I scooted over so she would have room next to me.

"So why the hell did they send you to a boys camp. What did you do?" Of course, Zig would be the first to ask.

"I'd really rather not talk about it, but they sent me here because the judge said that I didn't need to go to prison. And that there wasn't room in some girl's camp, and so here I am." She spoke really softly and timidly, there was no way she was a criminal. You could just tell.

"How long you here for?" Caveman was next.

"Um, see, they're not really sure. It's sorta a temporary thing, to see if they rule my verdict guilty or not. Because my sentence might be overturned. But for now, at least 8 months."

"So wait, you're telling me that they could find you innocent, but you get stuck in this hell hole regardless?" X-ray eyed her suspiciously.

"Yeah something like that." It was clear that she didn't want to talk about it and for some reason I felt the need to steer the conversation to something more pleasant.

"So, Anne, how old are you?" She brightened a bit. Victory.

"I'm 18. Also, what is this?" She poked at her food and crinkled her nose a bit.

"Nobody knows." I answered. So resolved to pick at her bread.

"Hey X, how come you haven't tried to steal her bread yet?" Stupid Caveman. God that kid, X would probably try to steal it now.

"Cause she's a girl. Mom said we got to be nice." Anne went slightly pink and looked down again.

"Anyways, may I know why you are all here?" So polite, she was.

"Aww, you so polite!" We all laughed again and went around and shared about each of us, what we did and how old we were. She relaxed a bit again and after dinner all of D-Tent escorted her back to the tent, where we all settled in for the night and tried our best to give her some space. That was probably the most difficult thing we had to do. We all noticed each other glancing at her when she fell asleep, and once again I thanked the big man upstairs for putting her cot next to mine.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Anne's POV**

I woke up with a start at the loud siren-like noise that pierced the night air. Dear lord, it must have been 4 something in the morning. I sat there for a few seconds, then stretched my hands up in an effort to work out the kinks that had developed in my back from the uncomfortable cot. When I noticed everyone else scurrying about I quickly brushed my hair and put it in a braid. I then slipped on my jumpsuit and quickly brushed over my teeth. I finished just in time to follow the rest of the boys out towards a shed that was labeled _LIBRARY_. I followed the boys in grabbing a shovel. 'Damn that's heavy!' I thought to myself as I dragged it around.

Squid came up behind me. "You should go eat one of them tortillas. You'll need your strength for digging." I nodded and, yawning, grabbed the disgustingly sticky tortilla and tried my best to not taste what I was eating. I followed the rest of D-Tent out on the dried lake bed, dragging my shovel behind me.

"You ok?" I turned towards the southern accent; Squid had been walking beside me the whole way. Heck, most of the boys walked as near to me as possible. He looked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

He smirked. "Cause your draggin' your shovel." I looked up and noticed that he was carrying his on his shoulders.

"Oh, well, I uh, I'm just tired. And this shovel is heavy."

"You can't be tired yet, girly, you haven't even started digging yet!" said Zigzag. His blonde hair was sticking up even more prominently today than yesterday and I stifled a laugh at his early morning appearance. All too soon we arrived at the digging site.

Mr. Sir walked up to me. "You are to dig here." I just shook my head and used all my strength to push the shovel into the dirt and lift it back out. The ground was hard and though I managed to get some up my first try, it was a measly amount. Mr. Sir laughed at me then walked away. This day was going to be a long one, so I decided to put all my efforts into digging in an attempt to get out of here as quickly as possible. I also didn't want to seem like a weakling.

**Squid's POV**

I looked over and noticed that she wasn't doing too bad. She didn't fall over the first try, which was good. But she also didn't lift as much dirt out of the hole each time for the simple fact that she wasn't as strong and didn't have the body weight to leverage against the dirt. She probably weighed only a hundred pounds or so. I realized that if I didn't start concentrating on my hole I'd be done after Caveman, and so I went back to focusing on digging. It was silently agreed among all of us that we wouldn't do what we usually do to newbies, which is throw dirt in their hole. I just hope Caveman isn't stupid enough to point that little detail out. I tried to focus on digging as much as possible until Mr. Sir came around with the water truck. Most of us weren't as chatty as usual cause we were too busy looking at Anne. Occasionally one of us would shout over and ask how she was doing, and she would always say "As good as anyone can be doing digging a hole in this weather!" which, no matter how many times she said it, would always make me chuckle.

Finally the water truck came and we all hopped up to get in line. Once again Magnet tried to cut his place in line and once again I pushed him back to where he belonged.

"Get some good blisters on ya, missy?" Mr. Sir addressed Anne. Oh shit, I had forgotten about the bad blisters we all got so I stepped out of line to go walk next to her. She held out her hands and they were completely covered in blood. The worst I had ever seen.

"Oh my god!" I held her soft wrists in my hands and she looked up at me. I could tell by the look on her face that they were really painful. I took the little water I had left and poured it over her hands. By this point the rest of the guys came over and were pouring their sympathies over her hands.

"Hey you two, if ya don't come over now ya don't get any water! Let's go!" We walked over to Mr. Sir and let him fill our canteens.

"It's ok, really." She said.

"Yeah, sure. Don't you have gloves or something?"

"No, the ones they gave me are so big that they're useless."

"Hey chica, you gotta put something over that." Everyone searched around for something to wrap them up with but we couldn't really find anything.

"Really, don't worry about it." She walked over to her hole and hopped in. The rest of us weren't quite ready to take no for an answer so I hopped into the hole with her.

"Hey, Anne, here." I took the extra shirt I had that I used as a hat and ripped part of it off.

"Squid..." but I shushed her and took one of her wrists in my hand and carefully wrapped each hand up. She winced when I tied the first one off tightly.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." And she smiled slightly up at me. Good lord was she pretty. And so sweet. All the other guys had gone back to their holes but kept looking over at us. Great, now they saw how soft I was going. But for some reason a part of me didn't care.

When I finished she smiled broadly and I smiled back. "Thanks Squid. You're the sweetest!"

"Uh, yeah..." Great, I just hope she wouldn't spread that around.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else that." She looked at my slyly.

"Thanks. Hey if they start really hurting or bleeding a lot, let me know, ok?"

"Ok." And I hopped out of her hole and over to mine. Luckily I had a direct view over to her hole so I could keep an eye on her. Unfortunately as I was digging a shadow hovered over me.

"What do ya want, Zig?"

"She ok? Her hands were so bad!"

"Yeah, I think so. But I can't tell. She doesn't say anything and she doesn't hardly complain."

"Yeah, but I guess it's good she doesn't whine."

"Haha yeah, that would get real old real quick."

"So, you're being awful nice to her. Ripping up your shirt and everything..." Damn Zigzag gave me a stupid smirk and I could feel my face heat up.

"I'm her mentor, ain't that what I'm supposed to do? Besides, she's a girl. We can't be mean to her."

"Uh huh, sure..." He just smirked and walked away. Damn it!

**Anne's POV**

I actually wasn't doing terrible. While most people had left, Caveman and Armpit and Squid were still left, although Squid looked like he was done. When they made a huge fuss about my hands I was really embarrassed but also very touched. Each one of them, even Zero, came to make sure that I was ok and offer some sort of small consolation. That Squid however, he really didn't have to do what he did. It was so sweet of him! I could tell though that he was seen as one of the tougher boys and didn't want to sully that reputation so I felt the need to reassure him that I wouldn't tell. And when he was wrapping my hands so carefully, and smiling at me, and fawning over me and talking to me with that deep southern accent (it also doesn't hurt to mention that he is really rather attractive), I swooned a bit. But then I reigned myself back in. I couldn't be thinking these thoughts. He was merely looking out for me, as he was instructed to. Plus, how could he like me when I looked utterly horrid from working. I was covered from head to toe in dirt and sweating like a pig. Even though my hair was in a braid, it was matted. While I was finishing up my hole and trying to make sense of the swirl of thoughts in my mind, a large shadow hovered over me.

"Wow, you're making really good time." There was that accent again.

"Oh, thanks. I'm just trying to get out of here as fast as I can."

"Haha fair enough. Want some help?"

"No, you don't have to do that! Besides, why are you still here if you're already finished?" I was curious as to why he would stick around.

"Cause you shouldn't walk back by yourself." Oh, right. I'm in a camp full of hormonal male delinquents who haven't seen a girl in a long time. Luckily I finished after a few minutes.

"Besides, it's a good thing I stuck around, seeing as you're too short to get out of that hole by yourself." He smirked and grabbed my elbow and hoisted me up with ease.

"Hey now, I'm not that short." I then made a move to grab my shovel but he got to it before me.

"Nope, not with your hands. Plus, you're puny! What do you weigh, like ninety pounds soaking wet?"

"I weigh a whole one hundred and five pounds, thank you very much!" I said dramatically, emphasizing the five pounds. He just laughed at me.

"I finished before them? How did that happen?" I noticed Caveman and Armpit still digging away, though even Armpit was doing better than Caveman.

"Caveman is literally the slowest digger I have ever seen." After that we walked back to camp in a comfortable silence. Once we got back to the then I grabbed my stuff to shower.

"How you gonna shower?"

"In the warden's house."

"Hey no fair!" I laughed at him and walked to the warden's cabin. I was nervous cause I had never met her before and the guys told me she was pretty intimidating and to not mess with her. Like I would mess with anyone regardless. I knocked on her door. She opened the door in a huff and I stepped back.

"Oh, come in, you'll let out the cold." She said sweetly; her whole demeanor changed when she saw me. I relished the feeling of the air conditioning.

"Thank you." I said quietly.

"You must be Anne." Well, she didn't seem so bad. "The bathroom is this way, try not to use too much water."

"Oh of course, miss." I was putting on my best manners that grandmother had taught me. She came from a more well-to-do family in England and so thought it of the utmost importance that I learn to act like a lady.

"Since you have such pretty long hair, you can use my shampoo and conditioner until I can get you your own."

"Thank you." I smiled and walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I tried my best to avoid getting dirt everywhere and stepped into the shower. Even though it was hot outside I still turned the water on warm. I can't stand cold showers, no matter the weather. However, so as not to upset the warden, I showered as quickly as I could and tried not to use too much of her conditioner, though it was tempting. The only downside were the horrific stinging sensation of my hands when they came in contact with the soap and water. Nevertheless, I still tried to take the time to wash off as best I could the parts of Squid's torn t shirt. Finally, I stepped out and I knew that I would never again take a shower for granted.

"Thank you again, miss."

"No problem." She smiled and I smiled back as I walked out the door.

**Squid's POV**

When I walked back into the tent from my shower, she was sitting on her bed with her jumpsuit tied around her waist and a black tank top on with her wet hair hanging down her back. I had never before seen her in anything but the stupid orange suit and I have to say, she had a very attractive body. Very attractive. Her stomach was perfectly flat and she wasn't as flat chested as the suit made her look. She was sitting on the bed reading.

"What are you reading?" To my surprise she jumped up and dropped her book and let out a small yelp. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey sorry." I said after I was finally done laughing.

"It's ok. I just didn't see you. And it's _The Book Thief_."

"Never heard of it."

"Really it's an incredibly easy read, but it's been my favorite book since I was a kid." An easy read, sure. The book looked really thick an intimidating. Also it was really worn, so clearly she meant it when she said that it was her.

"Cool. How are your hands?" I noticed that she had washed them off but they still looked raw and painful. I walked up to her and took her hands in mine to study the wounds, but also as an excuse to feel her soft skin.

"They are feeling a bit better. Thank you, again."

"Aww, no need to thank me. Hey we're all in the wreck room, you should come join us."

"Ok, sure." Her hands were still in mine and we both hesitated before letting go. I watched her as she put her still damp hair in a long braid and slipped on her slightly too big boots.

"C'mon." I lead her to the wreck room and when we walked in I almost instantly regretted persuading her to come along. All the guys eyed her like a piece of meat and I could feel her scoot closer to me as we walked towards the pool table. I felt guilty for putting her in this position; she didn't deserve to be treated like this. Once we got there I turned around and shot everyone a warning look, letting them know not to mess. The rest of D-Tent did the same. Eventually they all went back to doing whatever it is they were doing before.

"Hey chica, see you decided to join us!"

"Yeah."

"Want to play some pool?" Said X.

"Actually, I don't know how to play so I'd really rather just watch." We all mocked dramatic disbelief and chuckled at her.

"Are you kidding? We must teach you!" I see that Zig had gotten over his initial paranoia of her being a government spy or possible an alien from another planet quite quickly.

"Yeah girl, I mean, you ain't got nothing to do 'cept play pool, so might as well learn now!" said Armpit.

"Well, either way it is easier for me to start learning by watching you all play..."

"Alright, me and Zig will be a team." Zig was the next best player, besides me of course, and there was not way I was going to lose in front of Anne.

"Hey yo Magnet, let's wipe the floor with their asses!"

"X, you can't talk like that in front of a girl, man!" Zig stole the words right out of my mouth.

"Oh, sorry Anne!" X, apologizing?! This girl being here was having far greater repercussions than she realized. She merely laughed it off and told them to stop worrying.

Anyways, we played a good game, Zig and I winning of course. Actually I was pretty amazed I managed to win because I kept catching myself staring at Anne throughout the game and loosing focus. This is stupid, I have no idea why I am acting this way. Actually I do. It's because she's the first girl I've seen in forever, and not only that, but she's absolutely beautiful and a total sweetheart. But really I've known her for what, a day? No, I needed to think more clearly and get to know her as a person. We played more games against different people for the remainder of the time while Anne watched. In one of the games I sat out in, I tried to explain to her the meaning of the game. For once in my life I felt like someone was really listening to me; the way she intently looked at me and the game and nodded her head and asked me questions, smiling up at me occasionally and quietly cheering when I won, made me know that she was listening, truly listening and that maybe for once in my life, someone might care.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to Goneismyfave1 for your encouraging reviews!

Chapter 3

**Anne's POV**

I woke up the next morning so sore I didn't think that I could get out of bed. My hands stung each time I moved them and they were cracked with still half-bleeding scabs and torn open blisters. I made myself get up though, and as quickly as I could went through my morning routine.

"Open them peepers, missy!" I heard Mr. Sir shout at me. I merely nodded and grabbed my shovel, wincing as I took it in my hand. What really woke me up, however, was grabbing the nasty tortilla and shoving it down in an incredibly unladylike manner. As what I would assume will become customary, I trudged out onto the lake bed surrounded by the boys of D-Tent. No one ever said anything this early in the morning, and I was glad. The only words spoken were a quiet "Good morning" from Squid, whose voice was significantly deeper when he first woke up. The kind of deep that gives you butterfly feelings 'down there'. Anyways, I said good morning back, of course and I was rewarded with a smile.

Once Mr. Sir so graciously spit in the spot where I was to dig, I tried my best to get past that first layer of rock solid ground. But my efforts were in vain. I had no strength and my hands were already bleeding again. I had a revelation, however, and I poured a very small amount of my precious water onto the ground and finally I was able to dig up a small chunk of dirt. I realized that today I would definitely be done last. I could feel it.

The usual amount of sporadic and short-lived small talk commenced, and it was usually directed towards me. Not that I minded; I had decided to overcome my initial paranoia about these boys for the simple fact that they were being so friendly. None of them truly seemed to be bad guys. Despite the various painful physical ailments I was suffering from, I tried my best to respond as cheerfully as the situation allowed for. I also did my best not to whine; I refuse to be "that girl".

I dug away as quickly as my body would allow. Magnet and Zigzag had come over earlier to check on me and chat, and I welcomed the break that brought. I also noticed how Squid would look over and check on me, and when I caught him looking over at me I couldn't help but smile slightly and blush like mad. I was glad that if the situation ever arose where he called me out on it, I could blame it on the heat and sunburn. However, I found myself increasingly worn out with the stifling heat as the sun climbed higher in the sky and so my digging speed decreased. Today was not my day. Luckily, I was about halfway done with my hole when Mr. Sir brought lunch.

"Alright gentlemen and lady, come get yer grub!" I winced again as I had to use my hands to climb out of my hole, thus irritating them further. Luckily, Caveman was there to help me up out of my hole.

"Thanks Caveman."

"Don't mention it."

I took my usual spot in the back of line. I had taken the time to observe yesterday how each boy lined up in a specific spot and how Squid reminded Magnet of where his place was when he tried to move up. Silly boys. I assumed therefore that my place was at the back of the line, with me being new and all. Once I had gotten my lunch the boys motioned for me to sit near them at one of the holes, so I did. As I looked at my sandwich I grimaced. It was ham and cheese. I picked off the ham.

"Anyone want this?" They all turned towards me in shock.

"Why don't you want that? It's the good part!" Armpit was in utter disbelief.

"I don't eat food that has been produced from abused animals." They all looked at me like I was crazy or something.

"Why, chica? Also, your hands look bad. Oh my god." Magnet's face contorted up and he grimaced. I was surprised when Squid pulled out the strips of t shirt I had given back to him the other day and started once again wrapping my hands up. After I had washed them and laid them out to dry yesterday, I returned them to him. He laughed at me but took them back. I was amazed that he actually brought them with him. The rest of the guys didn't say a word, they merely watched and a few of them smirked.

"Thanks." I smiled at him. "And to answer your question Magnet, it's because I think it's unethical and it grosses me out."

"Here." Squid took my ham and in exchange gave me his cheese.

"Hey man, how come you get it?" Silly boys...

"Cause no one else took it, Zig." He smiled at me and I was grateful that he was considerate enough it exchange it for his cheese even though he certainly didn't have to.

"Hey, we got to come up with a name for you." Said X. A chorus of yeahs sprung up from the group and I didn't really know what to say except for ok. I know that nicknames hold significance here, so I was flattered that they wanted to give me one when I've been here for such a short amount of time.

Once we were done eating I headed back to my hole, only to be have Squid appear mere moments later.

"How are your hands feeling?"

"They're ok, I guess."

"Why didn't you say something? I woulda wrapped them up for you before you started digging."

"I, uh, I don't know." In truth, I didn't have an answer to give him.

"I shoulda just wrapped up your hands this morning. You sure you're gonna be ok?" His voice softened at that last sentence.

"Yeah, thank you so much, Squid. Really, I mean it."

"It's no problem." And he smiled and went back to digging his hole. The day went on the same as it is going to go one as long as I'm here. I slaved away under the hot sun digging these damn holes.

**Squid's POV**

Stupid girl won't let anyone know if she's hurt. Except she's not stupid. She's just damn stubborn. Not that I mind cause it's giving me an excuse to talk to her. Anyways, I noticed that she's having a much harder time with her hole today, probably cause her hands and muscles are sore. Genuinely we all feel really bad for her; this isn't a place for a girl at all. I was digging away and once again a large shadow appeared over me. This time it was Magnet.

"Hey man, what do you want?"

"So, I noticed how the other guys around here stare her down all the time."

"Yeah, it's fucking disgusting."

"Should we tell her about some of the guys, like Lump?"

"Yeah, probably. But I don't wanna scare her, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean, man." Magnet left but his comment left me thinking. We really should tell her to watch her back, though judging by the way she acts already she's doing a pretty good job. She doesn't seem that naive. Nevertheless, we still should tell her, I think.

The rest of the day went on normally but this time Anne was the last one done. It's worth mentioning, however, that she was done only a few minutes after Caveman. She was looking so beat so I helped her out of her hole, as usual.

"Thanks Squid. You know, if you don't want to, you really don't have to wait around. It's so hot out here."

"Nah, like I said earlier, I ain't letting you walk by yourself. Besides, you're too short to get out of your hole, remember?"

"How do you know? If Zero can do it, so can I!" She pointed to herself for emphasis and I laughed. She wasn't a jokester or anything, really she was rather quiet, but she could always make me laugh.

"Uh huh, sure. So anyways, where are you from?"

"Well, let's see. I was born in England actually, my dad was from England but my mom was from Boston. So when I was really young, we moved from England to Boston. It's where I grew up. But about a year and a half ago my mom moved down to San Antonio to live with her boyfriend."

"San Antonio? I live near there!" What a coincidence. Of all the places in Texas she could live, she lives close to me!

"Really? That's awesome!"

"Did you ever go back to England?"

"Only every summer! I love it there! Also, during Christmas sometimes too."

"That's real neat. So that's why you're so, uh, poised."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are very polite, and talk real intelligently, and uh, you're very ladylike." I chuckled at myself out of embarrassment. I couldn't find the right words to describe her really. She was all those things, and then some.

"Oh, uh thank you, I suppose. Unless that was some sort of an insult."

"Oh no, it wasn't an insult at all! It's nice really." I noticed that she blushed a bit when she looked away.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Have you always lived in San Antonio?"

"Yup! It's just me and my mom now." Don't know why I included that last part, but I figured she'd find out eventually. Besides, I felt like I could trust her a bit.

"Oh, same. So, what's your favorite color?"

"Hmm, blue probably. Yours?"

"I like blue too. But also black and gray."

"Strange, I thought only those goth kids liked black." We both chuckled at that and before I knew it the long walk back to camp seemed almost too short. When we got back to the tent she grabbed her clean clothes and towel.

"Hey, be careful walking to the warden's cabin and back, alright?"

"Of course." And with that she waltzed out of the tent. I grabbed my shower stuff but instead of heading immediately to my favorite part of the day I waited to make sure she got in the warden's cabin alright. When she did I ran over to the shower and enjoyed the little bit of coolness I would feel all day.

I walked back to the tent afterwards to wait with her, and Zig and X were in there relaxing.

"Hey, did Magnet talk to you today about stuff?" said Zig.

"Yeah, I think we should tell her."

"Me too. Just so she can be extra careful. We'll talk to her at dinner, sound good?" Since X was kinda in charge, we said yeah. Not a moment later she walked in, with her wet hair cascading down her back. It looked black when it was wet, which made her eyes stand out even more. She smiled at us and sat down on her bed.

"C'mon Anne, we're going to the rec room." Was Zig actually warming up to her already?

"I'd really rather stay here and nap. I'm so fatigued."

"Alright, suit yourself." X and Zig left. I didn't really want to leave but I also didn't want to seem weird, so I left with them. We got to the rec room and talked around the pool table.

"You think she'll be ok in there by herself?" I genuinely worried about her safety here.

"Squid's right, you never know if somebody were to sneak into the tent while she was sleeping, cover her mouth and..."

"Alright Zig, enough!" I didn't want to think about that.

"Yo, X, you think one of us ought to just hang out in there just to be sure?" said Armpit.

"Yeah, that might be good."

"C'mon Squid, let's go." said Zig.

"Squid again?"

"Man I'm her mentor, it's what I'm supposed to do, remember?" I smirked at the rest of the guys while Zig and I left.

When we walked in the tent she was sleeping peacefully.

"Aww, look how sweet." said Zig and in truth he was right. She looked angelic with her long hair splayed about her and her cuddled up so perfectly. It was like a painting.

"Aww so cute." Where did Armpit come from. I turned around and the rest of D-Tent was there.

"Hey man, we wanted to come too. It wasn't fair you go to hog her!" said Caveman.

"Shh, you'll wake her up, dumbass!" Said X.

We ended up talking quietly amongst ourselves and playing some random dice game, all the while staring at her cute little self curled up on her cot. I couldn't stop myself looking over at her at every small movement and noise, not that she was a loud sleeper at all. Anyways, when the bell rang for dinner we found ourselves in quite the dilemma.

"Whose gonna wake her up?"

"I don't know."

"How we gonna do it?"

While the rest of the guys tried to figure it out I took my chances and went over to her cot and lightly shook her shoulder. She groaned and slowly sat up.

"Rise and shine!" I mocked cheerfulness and she just shook her head and yawned.

"Hey girl, it's dinner time!" Armpit almost shouted at her from across the tent.

"Ok." Damn! Her sleepy voice was absolutely adorable. It was petite and cute. I heard a loud aww from Zig and Magnet as they walked out of the tent. She finally got up and went with us to dinner. I stood behind her in line to make sure no one messed with her. She would get hounded with cat calls and inappropriate remarks every day, which made my blood boil. I could tell that this would continue probably the remainder of her time here. As we sat down X nodded to me, indicating that we would tell her.

"So Anne, listen up." Her had snapped up from looking at her food in disgust to meet X-ray's gaze. I looked intently at her, trying to judge her reactions. Everyone else looked at her to and I could tell by her shifting that she felt uncomfortable.

"Listen, you know some of these guys are in here for doing things that are uh, that are um..." X was having a hard time with this so I Magnet filled in for him.

"Hey chica, they're in here for harassing girls." She merely nodded.

"And uh, see that guy over there?" I gestured towards Lump. "He's in here for um, uh raping two girls." Her eyes widened significantly and I instantly felt guilty and protective at the same time. Instinctively I moved my arm back and around her without touching her. I didn't realize this until later, however.

"But don't worry. We wouldn't let any of them hurt you." Even Armpit, big smelly Armpit, was protective of her.

"Just make sure you watch yourself, especially around him." Leave it to Zigzag to give her the warning piece of advice.

"Um, thanks guys. For letting me know. And for being so sweet." She smiled at each of us and we all smiled back at her. Even Zero smiled at her. We didn't even feel embarrassed that she called us sweet. Rather, it made me personally feel very proud. Eager to lift the mood we told her funny stories, mostly of Caveman embarrassing himself, like on how his first day he fell when he tried to dig up first layer of dirt. That seemed to work since Anne laughed at our stories. As we were settling down for bed, the time for questions arose.

"So Anne, what are you going to do when you get out of here?" said Caveman. In truth, we were all dying to know.

"Well, I'll go to college."

"Wait what? You graduated?" X-ray expressed all of our disbelief.

"Well yeah, and I've already applied to college." What?

"Where at?"

"Um some state schools, Cornell, Boston University, Cambridge, University College London, King's College and I think that's it..."

"Did you get accepted?"

"Yeah actually I got accepted to almost all of them. But it won't matter if I'm stuck here, huh?" She looked a little sad but DAMN, the gorgeous girl is also incredibly intelligent. I was super attracted to her at that moment, more than I had ever been before.

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"Wildlife biology." No fucking way! I wanted to do marine biology, hence the nickname Squid haha. But seriously, no way.

The rest of the night was spent asking her about school and random things, she told the rest of the guys about how she was really born in England and how she has a dual citizenship and that her grandpa is a professor at King's College in London and he also teaches at Oxford. And how she spends her summers over there and some holidays. She was a fascinating person and though she didn't try to be this way, she turned out to be incredibly interesting and witty. What makes it so attractive is that not only does she not try, but she doesn't even realize she's this way.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Anne's POV**

The last couple of weeks have gone by the same as the first few days. Each day was nearly the same as the first. I had gotten to know each of the guys a little more, except Zero of course. Squid became my best friend, but I quickly became close with Magnet and Zigzag as well. Also, my hands were doing much better; the only gross thing was that they were all callused now. My body ached more and more each day, but I'm hopeful that soon it will get used to all the hard labor.

The only incident of any interest happened last week. I was walking from the wreck room back to the tent when some guy grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Magnet and Zigzag while simultaneously grabbing my ass and saying something way to vile to repeat. And no no, it wasn't that guy Lump. It was some other random guy. Anyways, Magnet pulled me off of him while Zig punched the guy square in the jaw.

"Leave her alone, understand!?" Both Zig and Magnet yelled in the guys face and punched him a few times. Unfortunately the commotion alerted more of the boys and they came to see what's up. However the incident dissipated quickly and we all ended up back in the tent. The boys were seething, even the ones who weren't there. Squid especially was angry and I did my best to calm them down. They just silenced me, and tried to explain to me that it was more than just because I was a girl (although that was very important to them), it was because I was also a part of D-Tent so messing with you was like messing with all of them or something like that. Anyways, it was rather sweet of them and I gave both Zigzag and Magnet a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek to say thank you. Eventually they all seemed to calm down for a bit. I'll admit I was certainly shaken up, but I was calmed again fairly quickly all things considered due to their (and mostly Squid's) comfort.

"Hey look, a cloud!" There was no mistaking who said that. It was Squid. His voice brought me out of my daydreaming and reminded me to get back to work. My time was getting better but I still couldn't beat the boys, excluding Caveman.

"Where?"

"Right up there?"

"C'mon little cloud." said Magnet.

"Please, all I'm asking for is just a little shade." Poor Armpit looked exhausted. I myself was feeling more exhausted than usual. It felt hotter today than previous days. Luckily Pendanski was on his way bringing lunch. Unfortunately I didn't feel like I had the energy to get out of my hole.

"C'mon Anne." Squid offered me his hand and I gladly accepted. He held onto it a bit longer than usual after he helped me up. I didn't mind of course. We walked up and I got in my place at the back of the line. Every time I did, Squid would look a bit frustrated, like he wanted to move me up. It became our usual custom to sit around a single hole to talk and relax while we ate. I sat at the edge of the hole, my legs dangling but with my ankles crossed.

"You know, you have really good manners!" said Zigzag.

"Pardon?" I asked after swallowing a bite of food? I knew that other people didn't have good manners but I never thought of myself as an example of exceptional manners in any way.

"Yeah, chica. Like the way you sit and eat and talk to people." They all nodded in agreement and then each and every one of them mimicked me by crossing their ankles, setting their food like mine and straightening their back. Not that I sat with rigid posture, I was actually slouching at the moment.

"Like this, see?" Armpit's British accent needed quite a bit of work, which made it all the more comical.

"Like a lady, yes?" Said X-ray and then all the boys looked at each other with knowing glances. I of course was in the dark. We continued on like normal with them mercilessly teasing me about being smarter than them (which I know for a fact that if they, especially Squid, applied themselves they could all be intelligent), more mannered, more polite etc. Never before had I been teased by them to this extent, but luckily they never made it mean so it was good for a few laughs.

Squid walked beside me back to my hole.

"You know, I don't mind that you're uh, ladylike and quiet and shy and stuff. I uh, I think it's real adorable. So don't mind them, ok?" He said it very quietly and I could feel my face heat up. Oh I must look like a tomato right now!

"Um, thanks." I looked up at him and he was smiling and I couldn't meet his gaze so I smiled and looked at the ground. When I composed myself I looked at him, and he still had that gorgeous smile on his face but he was looking off into the distance.

"C'mon, we don't have all day." He gestured to my shovel and kept walking to his hole.

"Hey Squid?" I called after him.

He turned and smiled again. "Yeah?"

"Why is your nickname Squid?" Honestly I've been here a month and had no idea. Curiosity was killing me.

"I'll tell you while you dig." Fair enough, seeing as I was a slow digger. I set to work and he sat on the edge of my hole.

"I want to be a marine biologist someday. Also when I first came here I brought with me my stuffed animal squid." He looked down, embarrassed.

"Aww! But where is it now?"

"In the locker at the foot of my cot. I keep it hidden away haha."

"That's so cool that you want to be a marine biologist! For what it's worth, I think that's spectacular." He basically beamed at me, or at least I think he did.

"Well it's worth quite a bit. Thanks, darlin'." And before I even had time to register that he called me darling, he was already off digging his hole. Naturally he was finished rather quickly but he stuck around and talked to the other guys, namely Zigzag and Magnet. I wasn't the last one done today, a fact that always cheered me up. Once again Squid offered me his hand to help me out of the hole. Once again he held on to it just a bit longer than he needed to. We walked back to camp in a comfortable silence and he took my shovel from me, carrying both on his strong shoulders. I have to admit, he definitely had a well muscled physique. Usually most of the guys would take their shirts off to sleep and to this day I still blush and look away when I see Squid take his off. He just has such great abs and...

"Whatcha thinking about?" Squid nudged me with his elbow, bringing me out of my embarrassing thoughts.

"Hmm, what? Oh sorry. I wasn't really thinking about anything to be honest." In truth, I didn't want him to know.

"Oh ok. How are you holding up?"

"Fine, except I wake up every morning feeling like I've been hit by a truck. Every thing aches. But really, you don't have to worry about me so much."

"Still that sore? I'm sorry."

"I'm just hoping that one day it'll go away. What about you. You've been here an awful long time."

"Haha no need to worry about me. I'm fine."

"Hey Squid, can I ask you something more um, personal? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." He looked at me curiously.

"Uh, sure."

"Where's your dad? I mean, I've heard you mention your mom but what about your dad? I apologize if that's..." But he shushed me.

"In truth, I don't know where he is. I don't really care. He left when I was 10. After he left my mom started drinking."

"Oh Alan, I'm so sorry." He stopped for a brief second.

**Squid's POV**

What did she just call me? I was tempted to be mad, but then again it sounded good when she said my name. And plus, when I looked over at her, her hand covered her mouth and her eyes were really wide. She probably thought I was going to give her serious shit for using my name. But I couldn't. I didn't mind when she said it and she looked so scared.

"Squid I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..." But I cut her off by putting my finger over her lips. They felt soft, so so soft.

"It's ok. I don't mind." And before something stupid could come out of my mouth I turned around and started heading for camp. She walked besides me silently. I knew that she would worry about it even though I told her it was ok. She was just one of those people. I decided that for now the best thing was to ignore it.

"I don't have my dad around either." I didn't expect her to talk, but I was delighted all the same when she did. She had one of those really soothing and pleasant voices.

"I'm sorry. What happened to him?"

"He died when I was 8. Ever since then my mom has had too many boyfriends to count, although she's been with this last guy for awhile."

"Ah, darlin', I'm really sorry about that. Were you and your dad close?" Why in the world do I keep calling her darling? It's so stupid! She probably thinks I'm some weird creep trying to get in her pants.

"Yeah we were really close." Her voice strained a bit and I tensed up. I didn't want to see her cry. She's been in an all boys juvenile delinquent camp for a month and not once have I seen or heard her cry. She was much tougher than she looked. When I looked over at her, she wasn't crying thank god. She just smiled a sad smile and then looked off into the distance.

"So I guess you and I are more alike than I thought, huh?" I said. It lightened the mood considerably and she grinned.

"Unfortunately."

"Hey!" We both laughed and before I knew it we were back in camp and she was grabbing her stuff to shower. As usual, I waited to make sure that she was in the warden's cabin before taking my own shower.

She came back with a smile on her face. I was sitting on my cot, along with Armpit and Zigzag.

"Why are you so happy?" said Armpit.

"Cause today was leg shaving day."

"What does that mean?" Was Zig really that stupid.

"Wow Zig. Here, let me explain. The warden doesn't want me to take super long showers. However, it takes awhile to shave my legs. So, I get to take a longer shower twice a week to shave. And today was that day. And I feel great."

"Oh ok. Makes sense."

"Can I feel?" What the hell Armpit?

"No Pit you can't feel!" I said. The nerve of this guy.

"Haha I think Armpit that would be a bit weird." I backed off when she didn't look too offended.

Dinner came up sooner than I thought and we all sat down.

"So Lady, how was your day?"

"Um, fine?" She genuinely looked confused and I knew what X was doing. We were bestowing her nickname upon her. The rest of the dinner went normally, 'cept whenever someone wanted to talk to Anne, they called her Lady instead. She clearly caught on to what was going on but didn't say anything. She merely smiled. It was so perfect for Anne, I mean Lady. She was a real lady.

**The next day. Squid's POV**

The next morning I went to wake her up by ruffling her hair. Why hadn't I done this before? Her hair was incredibly soft and silky. She grumbled at me and stretched, revealing her flat stomach that, even though it was dark, made my...well never mind. Let's just say it was really hot and we'll leave it at that.

The day was going on normally but Lady was looking much more tired than usual. When Mom came around with the truck I noticed that she trudged instead of her normally graceful walk. She got in line behind Zero again. It made me so mad! She should definitely be in front of us. However, X came over and moved her up like he had for Caveman awhile ago.

"You're here now Lady, alright?" she nodded and actually looked at Zero apologetically. I got my water then looked back at her; she didn't look so good.

"Hey Squid, does Lady look a bit pale right now?" said X.

"Yeah..." When she had gotten her water she walked up to me and X.

"You feeling ok?" I asked her. I was really concerned about her.

"Yeah, I think so." Liar. She was so damn stubborn sometimes. She trudged back to her hole and sat down on the edge with her head resting on her hand. I went and sat down next to her. The other guys came up but stayed their distance.

"Liar. C'mon Anne, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

"Maybe it's just the heat. I don't know."

"Tell me what you need and I'll get it for you." She was looking more and more pale and her eyes were closed. Then all of a sudden she sat straight up, and completely passed out. Luckily I caught her and the rest of D-Tent rushed over. There was a chorus of "Oh my gods" and "Is she ok?" and "We need to get someone!"

"Everyone shut up!" I shouted rather loudly at them. Zig helped me up and I picked her up bridal style. I know this is terrible because she's passed out, and I am panicking because I really do care about her and I want her to be ok, but damn did it feel good to hold her like that!

"I'm gonna take her back to camp. See if I can't find Mom or someone." They all made a move to follow me but X stopped them.

"The warden won't be happy if we all quit. You take care of her alright Squid!" He shouted after me, and the smirk that followed told me that he knew I wouldn't do anything less but the best for her.

I walked as quickly as I could with her in my arms back to camp and I frantically searched for Mom.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Squid's POV**

I searched frantically around camp but the place was empty. She was still passed out in my arms and I have to say, as light as a feather. I thought at this point the best course of action was to lay her down on her cot, where she could be cool. I then took the extra rags that I had, soaked them in my water and pressed them to her head. I sat down next to her and wiped the pieces of loose hair away from her face. All of a sudden her eyes opened and she looked frantically at me.

"Shh shh. It's ok." I wasn't really sure what to say. I just wanted her to be ok.

"Oh, Squid, I'm so sorry." She looked up at me with those big eyes apologetically. I couldn't stop myself from tucking more stray hair that had fallen from her famous braid behind her ear. She looked away and blushed like nobody's business. It was probably the cutest thing I had ever seen.

"For what? Passing out? It's no big deal. The only thing that matters to me is that you're ok."

"I think I will be." She tried to sit up but winced and grabbed her head when she did. I gently pushed her back down.

"Don't get up. Here, drink some water." She took the water from me and delicately drank some.

"Thanks." She smiled up at me. "But wait, what about my hole?"

"Don't worry about it."

"But..." Silly girl. I couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"I said don't worry about." I said firmly but gently, at least I think I did. She said ok in that cute sleepy voice that she has. I looked at her and she still looked pretty pale.

"Hey, you should get your rest. Sleep some. You look so exhausted."

"Hey Squid, did you carry me all the way here?"

"Uh yeah, but it wasn't a big deal. You know, you're as light as a feather." I chuckled at her again. What I didn't expect was for her to sit up and put her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. She pressed up against me and for a moment I froze up. I ended up holding her pretty tightly cause I didn't want her to let go. This was probably the best day of my life. She buried her face in my chest and I could feel her uh, body lets just say, very well against my own. I also couldn't help but bury my face in her hair. Even covered in dirt and sweaty she still smelled so good. I wanted so badly to kiss the top of her head. Actually I wanted so bad to do a lot of things. But I kept myself in check. She was an amazing girl and I didn't want to ruin any chance that I might have ever had with her. Despite the fact that I love being the tough guy, I cared so much about her and I really liked her. And I mean REALLY liked her. And I was thinking that uh, maybe she liked me too. At least I am desperately hoping she does. All too soon she pulled away and I made her lay back down.

"Get some rest. I'll be right here, ok?"

"Ok." And she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. I watched for a bit and I noticed that after awhile the color started to return to her cheeks. I refused to leave her here by herself so I sat at the edge of her bed and propped my feet up. I didn't mind; honestly, I felt like I could wait for forever. She was sleeping so peacefully and I realized how much I loved just watching her. I can't let anyone find this out though...

I was left there not only with my thoughts of how I was falling for this amazing girl, but also about another struggle. See, I'm kinda tough on the other guys, but that's me. It's just that one day Anne called me a bully. She did it in a teasing way but still, I don't want her thinking things like that about me. I really want her to like me. But at the same time I needed to keep my reputation. I was so lost in thought I didn't even here Zero come in.

"She ok?" I jumped up at the sound of Zero's voice. Wait, Zero's voice. What the hell?

"Yeah, she will be. She's just sleeping now." He didn't say anything, just went back to his cot a laid down. Like always. Eventually Zig and Magnet came in, and they asked how she was doing. I told them the same thing I told Zero. I felt ok leaving her with them; I needed to finish my hole. So I trudged back into the hot sun, expecting my hole to take forever. As I left, Zig and Magnet winked at me and wiggled their eyebrows. I just flipped them off, but smiled when I was outside.

**Anne's POV**

I woke up to see almost all the guys staring at me. Everyone was there, except Squid. I didn't want to seem to obvious about it though, so I didn't say anything right away.

"Hey chica, you feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better, thank you."

"Well uh, it's past dinner time so we all brought you something." Said Zigzag. At that moment they brought me some peanut butter and jelly and some juice. Those boys were the sweetest!

"Aww, thanks you guys!" They all smiled and said no problem.

"It's good to see you feelin' better, Lady." said X-ray.

"Yeah, and it's good that you don't look so pale anymore. You looked like a freakin' ghost!" Said Armpit.

"Yeah man, it was scary." said Zig.

"Glad you're feeling better!" Caveman added, and I looked over at Zero, who smiled and nodded, as if in agreement.

"You all are the best!" I sat up slowly, for some reason I still had a killer headache.

"Just take it easy though, if you still had a headache. Squid said you might." They all eyed me suspiciously. I wasn't going to get out of this one no matter how hard I tried. So I ate slowly. Where the hell was Squid.

"And you know, in case you were wondering, Squid's out finishing his hole. And yours. He should be back soon." Stupid Magnet said with a smirk and some of the guys sniggered. I wish I had the energy to give them all dirty looks. Instead, since I had a mouth full of food I lightly nodded. But then I thought. Wait, my hole? He was finishing my hole? What the hell?! No way, that was totally unacceptably sweet of him!

I went to stand up and all of the sudden I had three of the guys in front of me, stopping me.

"No way. Where do you think you're going?" said Armpit.

"To shower. I'll be fine." I grabbed my stuff, but Zigzag insisted on escorting me there. The warden looked suspiciously at Zigzag but let me in. When I got out of the shower and stepped out of her house, to my surprise Squid was there waiting for me.

"Hey." He had showered and he smiled at me.

"Hey. I'm really sorry that you had to stay so late to dig your hole and mine! You didn't have to do that! That was so, well, kind. " In typical Squid style, he just chewed on his toothpick and shrugged. It was so adorable when he did that.

"It's no problem." He turned to me and looked me right in the eyes with his gorgeous chocolate ones. "Don't worry about it." Damn he knew me so well.

"I'll try."

"You seem like you're feeling better."

"I'm feeling much better actually. Thank you." I smiled up at him and he smiled back.

"I'm really glad to hear that, darlin'." His smile was genuine and boy was he a charmer. Though he didn't know it. I secretly loved it when he accidentally used pet names on me. I knew that they sorta slipped out by his face, he would always smile, but at the same time his cheeks would get slightly pink and he could never look me in the eye.

I went to put my stuff down and most of D-Tent must have gone to the wreck room.

"You feeling up to going to the wreck room?" Squid asked me. I just got all these butterfly feelings knowing he cared so much. I just really hope that he actually liked me the same way I liked him. You know, in a romantic sense.

"Sure."

We walked in and all the guys greeted me cheerfully. I was really growing attached to them; they were like the older brothers I never had. Squid helped me play pool and we actually won! I suspected that the dirty looks Squid was giving X-ray and Magnet had something to do with it, but I really didn't care. Afterwards, we all went back to the tent, when Pendanski barged in.

"Ok everybody, you know what night it is. Group therapy night!" Ugh I hated these. Luckily he had never called me out on anything, so I could just sorta fade to the background. We all treked to the empty cafeteria to 'talk'. I sat next to Squid, as usual. At first, Pendanski called out Magnet on his puppy thing, which I thought was adorable. I thought it was the best however, when Squid actually looked angry at the fact that one puppy was so expensive. My heart swelled at that.

"So Anne, hear you have a nickname. Lady. You're a big shot now, huh?" I turned towards him. No. NO! This can't be happening. I just wanted to fade into the background.

"If you say so." I felt so self-conscious because all the guys were staring at me, so I cast my eyes to the ground. I felt Squid shuffle closer to me and straighten. God above knows not only how it almost makes me cry from joy at the fact that he would do that, but how turned on I get from it as well.

"Feeling better? I heard you had a little fainting spell earlier today."

"Yes, I feel better."

"Excellent! Then I think we should talk about you. You've been here long enough."

"I'd rather not."

"Oh, but how will you learn from your mistakes if you don't talk about them?" I didn't answer him. Instead, I looked up and gave him the coldest look I could muster.

"Well, for starters, why don't you share what you were charged with?"

"No." I still didn't stop giving him that cold stare that I had perfected over the years just for people like him.

"Well then, since you're not so compliant, maybe I'll refresh your memory. It might help break the ice. You were charged with stabbing a man, a cop and your mother's boyfriend to be precise. Why?" I heard a few gasps from the guys and I hung my head. I wanted to crawl into a hole, get bitten by a yellow spotted lizard and die.

"Oh don't worry, she didn't kill him. Now, you said that he allegedly tried to rape you, but didn't succeed because you stabbed him with a kitchen knife. But he said that was not the case. Now, you said then that it's because he's a cop that he got off the hook. Of course, the courts believed him because he's a cop. It then says here that your mother..." I didn't even hear the rest of what he was saying.

**Squid's POV**

I was so angry. Angry at the fact that clearly she was innocent and didn't belong here. Angry at the fact that her stepfather was a fucking asshole. But at this point I was furious at Mom, and it took all I had in me not to strangle his neck. I looked over and then I saw her hanging her head, then I looked at Mom, then at the guys. All their eyes were wide and I knew what they were thinking. I made eye contact with Zig, who nodded in Lady's direction with wide eyes. I looked and I saw a tear fall from her face onto her lap and her shoulders tremble lightly. Oh my fucking god, that douche made her cry. I gently put my arm around her shoulders.

"Stop." I was as forceful as I could be towards Mom.

"I'm sorry Alan, what?"

"I said stop."

"Now Alan I know this may seem harsh but I'm the doctor here and I think I know what's best." That was it. I stood up and made to go at Mom but Magnet and the other guys held me back. Looking back I know that they didn't necessarily want to but that things could get bad if I beat up Pendanski.

"Oh now, you don't think she's guilty? That cop probably didn't try to rape her. I'm guessing she just overreacted, like she's doing now." I lunged towards him but the only thing I could do was shove him down.

"Don't fucking talk to her like that, you hear?" The guys continued to hold me back.

"Listen Squid, we'll deal with him later but right now you gotta calm yourself, alright?" God, why did X have to be so matter of fact all the damn time?

"Yeah man, we'll take care of him, but now's not the time." Magnet too. They let go of me and Zig motioned to Lady again. I calmed significantly. I still wanted to beat the shit out of Mom but I then realized that maybe the most important thing right now was to make sure she was ok. I pulled her up towards me, put my arms around her and quickly led her out of there. I heard Zigzag say "Fucking piece of shit" towards Mom so I looked back only to see Armpit shove Mom further with his foot and Magnet spit on him.

We walked the rest of the way outside and she was still crying on my shoulder. As corny as it sounds my heart was breaking at feeling and hearing her quiet sobs.

We walked into the tent and sat on her bed while I rubbed her back soothingly. I didn't really know what to say.

"I really didn't mean to stab him! I swear he tried to rape me. I wasn't lying, I promise. It wasn't my fault." She kept repeating those lines over and over while she sobbed into my shirt. I know that I shouldn't even be thinking like this right now, but I loved holding her. By this point the rest of the tent had filed in and had taken up post as near to her as possible.

"I know, I believe you. It wasn't your fault." I whispered in her ear.

"We all believe you, chica." Said Magnet. The rest of the tent agreed. She nodded her head but still didn't look up. Some of the guys came and rubbed her shoulder or ruffled her hair in an attempt to comfort her. I looked up at Zig and shook my head. No wonder she was so uneasy with us for the first little bit she was here. And I was so pissed. Clearly she was innocent and we all knew it. Eventually she fell asleep on my shoulder and the rest of the guys went to bed. Once I was sure she was asleep I laid her down and tucked her in. I then tried my best to fall asleep but it took me forever because I was furious and worried about her at the same time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Anne's POV**

I woke up to gentle shaking and ruffling of my hair. It was Squid.

"C'mon Lady, time to get up." I nodded, sat up and stretched. Despite the time, I was happy to see him.

The beginning of the day went by as normal. Until the first time the water truck came by. The first odd thing that happened was that X-Ray pulled me up to the front of the line. In front of him!

"X, you really don't have to do that. It's completely unnecessary and I..." But I was merely silenced.

"It's just for today, Lady." He smiled at me. Unfortunately it was Pendanski bringing the water, but luckily nothing happened. I have a feeling it was because I had X, Armpit and Squid standing right there. Once those three had gotten their water they joined me at one of the holes to sit and relax. Squid lounged on the dirt and casually leaned his shoulder against my leg. I couldn't help but smile.

"What's Caveman holding?"

"Huh?" they all turned and looked at me. I gestured to the rock that Caveman was showing Pendanski.

"Let's go see." Said X. Squid got up and as usual helped me to my feet and we walked up. He was holding a fossil and asking about getting a day off. For a fossil. Caveman was nice and I liked him, but sometimes he could be pretty naive.

"Stanley, the warden isn't interested in fossils." And Pendanski handed the fossil back to him and started packing up to leave.

"Let me see that." Squid usually sorta bullied Caveman a bit, so he roughly grabbed it out of his hand. I gave him a dirty look but I knew it would be useless. His tough guy exterior had taken over, although secretly I knew he wanted to see because of his interest in marine biology.

"What is is?" Said Magnet.

"Man see, look at the little fishes. Aww." Inside Armpit was such a teddy bear, but all the guys looked at him like he was crazy so he immediately recovered his tough guy act, just like Squid and the rest of them do.

"I mean you know, it look like them cave pictures." They all started to walk away, and Squid shook his head and tossed the fossil at Caveman. I sorta got lost in the shuffle and didn't say much. Although I did think that the fossil was cool. I guess I'm just feeling pretty down still from yesterday, not to mention exhausted.

Squid was walking next to me. He was shaking his head. "A fossil, man I tell you what. He tried to pull this once before, that's why we called him caveman." I nodded my head. Makes sense now.

"I told you he was a neanderthal the first time I saw him." Said X. I hadn't realized he was walking next to me too. When I got to my hole and looked back, Caveman was still talking to Pendanski about this place actually being a lake at one point. Why he would want to converse with that asshole I had no idea. Once Pendanski had left, the guys gave him a really hard time and were sorta bullying him, although for the first time I didn't mind. I thought he deserved it.

"Hey yo Caveman, why you so buddy buddy with Pendanski?" Said Armpit. I saw Magnet bump into Caveman while walking back to his hole. The other guys directed subtle threats to him and to be quite honest I felt very loved. They died down eventually and I was completely zoned out while digging until a shadow loomed over me. I thought it was Squid, but when I looked up I saw Magnet and smiled. He hopped down into my hole.

"How ya doing chica?"

"Alright I guess." He didn't seem to pleased with my lack of enthusiasm so he started telling me funny stories. And then to my surprise he started shoveling.

"Um Magnet, what are you doing?"

"Oh I just figured since I'm standing here, might as well help you out, you know? So anyways, whose you're best friend here? You know, like who do you _like _the best?" He emphasized the like and I could feel my face going fifty shades of red.

"Oh you know, I like all of you. You all are like the elder brothers I never had." I sputtered out the words and hoped the answer would be acceptable. He wiggled his stupid eyebrows at me and winked.

"So you consider _all _of us to be like your older brother, huh? Cause you seem awful close to a certain someone, eh chica?"

"I don't pretend to know what you are referring to." I smiled sweetly at him to try and get him to not notice me blushing. He just shook his head and left my hole.

"Whatever you say chica." He wiggled his eyebrows again at me. Damn! I hope he doesn't go around like some immature teenager babbling about it. I mean, Magnet's what, 18 now? He's too old for that. At least, I'm telling myself those facts. About a half an hour later, another shadow appeared, this time it was Zigzag.

"Here, let me help you."

"Ok, why are you all doing this?"

"Well girly, cause I like talking to you."

"Thanks so much! And you don't have to do this." He mocked dramatic offense.

"Nonsense! I will stand by my commitment."

"Well, thank you. So how are you?"

"Wondering. Who is the best looking guy here? Now be honest. Wait wait before you answer I want to show you something." He pulled up his sleeve and flexed his bicep.

"Ok now go. Wait wait no! First you must observe everyone." And so he made me take a good long look at most of D-Tent and wouldn't let me look away until he said so. Naturally he saved Squid for last. And he made me look at him the longest. Normally he talked down each of the guys in comparison to himself.

"Now look at Squid. Just look at him. At his muscles. Man have you seen the boys abs?" Oh my goodness it was like he knew my weakness. "The boy is ripped. And look at his shoulders and arms when he lifts that shovel!" And on and on he went. Gosh I looked like a total tomato! And I knew exactly what little game he was playing.

"So what's the verdict." Oh no, I'm not falling for this trap.

"Well honestly I don't know, but I can definitely say it's not you, my dear Zigzag." I was gaining confidence with the boys, so I didn't have a problem joking around with them.

"Well I never!" And with a squeaky voice he shoveled one last pile of dirt and was off. I chuckled to myself and continued to dig. It was getting hot and I was hoping lunch would be soon. However, before lunch Armpit visited me. He only shoveled a little bit while he told me funny and cute stories. Every single story painted Squid in a good light and I suspected that many of them were embellished. Nevertheless I appreciated it. X-Ray came up last.

"Yo Lady, how you doing over here?"

"I am alright. How are you?"

"Good good." And just as Magnet and Zigzag before him, he hopped in and started digging. I was making record time with all their help. Why, I might even be done second or third! I couldn't hope to beat Zero.

"So hey listen, my boy Squid is like my right hand. We know each other real well."

"Oh yeah? That's really awesome."

"Yeah, he's always got my back." He then proceeded with a story about how when X was in trouble with some of the bigger guys several months ago, Squid didn't hesitate to help him out. I don't like the fact that they got in a fight, but I also realize it's the way life works out here. He told me other things, mostly serious, that highlighted qualities such as protectiveness (which I already picked up on from him), loyalty etc. But what I also didn't expect was for X to tell me that Squid was actually very smart. About how in school he was really smart and the only reason some of his grades were bad was because he would skip school to steal. His stories were more in depth than the level of detail I'm giving here, but he was apparently very intelligent (I mean I know he's not stupid I just didn't know if he was book smart). I love an intelligent guy so I was definitely turned on by this point, not like any of them would know. Once Mr. Sir brought lunch X helped me out of my hole and escorted me to the line, where I insisted I stood where I usually stand.

"You ok?" I was awoken from my thoughts by none other than Squid himself, who was walking next to me after he got his lunch.

"Oh, sorry. And I'm ok." He smiled and nodded and I couldn't help but smile back. I really like him. He was tall dark and handsome. And had grown into quite the man by 19.

"They bothering you much?" He seemed agitated with something.

"No not at all. Actually they were helping me out."

"Great." He actually sounded very pleased with that and I had no idea why. This whole day was extremely obfuscating and getting to be a bit frustrating. We sat around as usual with lunch and had our usual casual conversation. Too soon I had gone back to my hole. I realized that the whole time I had been so distracted that I failed to noticed the guys go up to Squid and talk. Now my curiosity was quite piqued. Sometimes they appeared to be in serious discussion while other times laughing. And more than often Squid shoving them playfully.

**Squid' POV**

Oh my god I will kill them all. They are humiliating me. I mean, this is not what I had in mind when I suggested that we all help her out today. I just wanted to be nice. Poor girl needed it. I knew they were over there talking about me. I could see it from how she was standing and looking at the ground. She sorta withdrawals into herself when she's embarrassed (or upset but I don't think she was upset) and gets real shy. Not that she isn't already shy but it's super cute. Anyways back to the point. It was very clearly obvious what Zig was pulling. I was so self-conscious. What worried me was what was said. However, I must say I did get my fair share of bombardment as well.

"Hey buddy."

"What do you want, Zig?"

"Just seeing how you're doing. She's real cute huh?"

"Uh, you said it first."

"You're doing a real good job of looking after her." I didn't even notice Magnet as Zig was saying that.

"Yeah, I mean how could he not. Just look at her." Both he and Zig physically turned my head to force me to stare at her. Not that I don't do enough of that already.

"Yeah, she's gorgeous. I mean, her figure is absolutely perfect. She don't even have to try to be beautiful. And she's got the prettiest eyes and the softest hair. And skin." Said Zig. I wasn't going to argue with them; I thought she was stunning. But I was going to kill them. They finally let go of my head.

"Eh man, and she's such a sweetie. Always so charming. One couldn't help but _like _her a lot, huh?" Stupid Magnet and his stupid wiggling eyebrows.

"So, what do you think?" Zig winked at me and I shoved him playfully.

"She's a nice girl."

"Nice, he says. Man, you're kidding yourself." They both patted my back and left me to digging. Until X-Ray showed up.

"So uh, what's the deal with you and Lady?" There's the X I know, always straight to the point. It's what I liked about the guy, until now.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb man. You like her, don't you?" He said with a smirk. A smirk I desperately wanted to wipe off his face.

"As much as anyone would like her."

"Don't lie to me. She's a great girl. I don't blame you for liking her. We all like her, just you maybe like her more. Admit it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Listen, we're all protective of her but you are really protective. And not once have you been anything but a gentleman to her. I have never seen you so nice until now."

"Nah man, she's a girl. You gotta be nice to girls."

"Man you are taking it above and beyond. I think it's rather cute." He smirked and I shoved him too.

"Man go away."

"I'm just saying, if you don't ask her on a date soon we're all gonna do it for you. And you had better not change the way you act towards her just cause we had this little talk, aight?" Before I could even think he left. Damn! This was getting ridiculous. And of course I wouldn't change the way I treated her. I did really like her. I just...I don't know really.

I decided that since I was done I would go and see how she's doing.

"Hey, how's it going?"

She looked up at me and for the millionth time this month I smiled at seeing her gorgeous face. "Much better."

"I'm real glad to hear that." I hopped in her hole and started digging.

"You too?"

"Uh yeah. We all felt bad cause of yesterday, so we thought you deserved a break of sorts."

"Aww, thanks! You all are the best!" She just beamed and I could tell she was truly grateful. I could often see how sore and tired she was. She wasn't cut out for this. What made me like her even more and drove me nuts at the same time was how she would rarely complain. In record time she was done today so we headed back together. Of course, Zero was done first but that didn't matter. Once D-Tent was out of site I stopped walking, grabbed her shovel and crouched down in front of her.

"Hop on!" I encouraged and she laughed.

"But I couldn't! You must be so tired!"

"Oh please!" And so she hopped on my back and I gave her a piggy back ride all the way back to camp. Once I deposited the shovels I spun her around. This was the most fun I have had in forever and I absolutely died of happiness when I heard her giggle and squeal. I decided then to run into the tent and toss her on her cot. She laughed and we were both breathless. I sat down next to her on her bed and smiled. We didn't need to say anything. That's what I loved about her. We were totally comfortable in silence. She leaned her head ever so slightly on my shoulder and I scooted closer, trying to let her know that she could snuggle more. I would do anything for her to. Eventually I broke the silence.

"Good day?"

"The best." I could feel her smile against my shoulder. She was looking down and playing with the end of her braid.

"Squid, did you mean it when you said that you believe me?" I knew exactly what she was talking about. She looked visibly upset so I put my arm around her and pulled her closer.

"Of course I did. It wasn't your fault. What he did to you was so, so..." I was struggling with finding the right word, "wrong. Unacceptable. If I see him I swear I'll..."

"Thanks Squid." I was rewarded by her leaning closer to me.

"And what Mom did...he's not going to get away with that."

"No! Don't!" She turned and faced me. For the first time she looked me right in the eyes. "I don't want you getting in trouble!"

"Don't worry about it. I mean it." I wasn't about to just sit there and let her talk me out of it. And plus I wasn't stupid enough to do something to get D-Tent in huge trouble. What she didn't know is that all of us were planning to get him back. That worthless piece of shit. I could tell she believed me and she relaxed some. I smiled to try to get her to relax even more, which she did. We sat there for a few more minutes, enjoying each others company until she spoke again.

"Time for a shower."

"Good idea." And so we both headed to the shower and by the time she got back most of D-Tent was done. So we spent the afternoon as usual, only we occasionally talked when she was out of ear shot about what we were going to do about Mom. I needed to get back at him. I was aching and dying on the inside knowing that he hurt her bad and nothing was being done about it. That was about to change though.


	7. Chapter 7

Nota bene: Wow! Thanks so much to everyone for the reviews! You all are the best!

Chapter 7

**Anne's POV**

The rest of the next week or so went by fairly smoothly and as usual. Nothing too major happened and nothing had still happened with Pendanski so I decided to not worry about it (or try not to) anyways. We were in the rec room after a particularly long day when Pendanski brought the mail.

"Anne, here you go." He set it on the table we were sitting at and I read the address. It was from London, from my grandfather! I grinned. I was so ecstatic. I frantically began to read the letter, but then I stopped because I wanted to open the small package. It was a book! _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy _to be exact. And nail polish! I was thrilled.

"Whose it from?" I looked up at the guys at the table, eying me curiously.

"My grandfather in London!" Squid smiled and shook his head when he heard how happy I was. I got up and headed to the tent.

"Where you going?"

"To read and paint my nails." They all nodded and shurgged and I didn't notice Squid's eyes trailing after me as I left.

I was glad to be alone in the tent, the guys hardly ever gave me privacy. So I basked in the glory of being alone. Usually, I loved being alone with myself, I guess I am something of a loner type.

**Squid's POV**

I felt a bit apprehensive about letting her go alone, but I realized that she probably really wanted some time to herself. She was definitely an introvert and needed to be away from people for a bit, and we've all been so protective that we haven't been giving her any space. I didn't have time to think any more about it though, because all of D-Tent was subtly hounding me about her. Damn, why couldn't they leave me alone!?

"C'mon, at least admit that you like her."

"We all know it's true."

These types of comments continued on for a good fifteen minutes until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, enough already! Fine you know what..." I lowered my voice so no one else could hear except D-Tent, "I might like her."

They all laughed and got really excited. They're worse than girls!

"Atta boy. It's about time." Zig slapped my back. They all congratulated me. This is stupid and really embarrassing. I could feel my face getting really warm. Great, now I'm blushing or whatever that is.

"Now you have to ask her out on a date!" said X. Since when did they care about my personal life.

"I'm in a juvenile detention facility. I mean, I'll say hey Anne, wanna go out? I know a great place to go digging. No. That's stupid."

"Nah man, we'll help you out!" Oh no, Magnet wasn't doing this.

"No, and stay out of it." I was pretty pissed by this point, mostly cause I was embarrassed. I knew they wouldn't leave me alone so I decided to leave. I mean, it's been a long time since I checked on Lady and you know, I was kinda paranoid. It's been almost an hour. So I stood up and headed out. I walked in the tent and she wasn't there. Her book was on the floor. I knew something was wrong so I ran outside.

"Anne?!" I was frantic and panicking. There was hardly anyone outside cause it was so hot, but I ran around all the tents and buildings. I was thankful when I did because that's when I found them behind the cafeteria. I froze for a second. It was Lump, he was trying to, to...to rape her. Her shirt was off but she still had her bra on and her jumpsuit was still tied around her waste. I didn't even think when I saw him backhand her so hard she went flying back and landed on the ground. I don't really remember what happened except that I heard her whimper and I felt my fist connect with his body over and over. I didn't even notice the throng of people that had gathered around us. I only regained my senses when someone pulled me off Lump. I struggled against them.

"Don't fucking touch her!" I yelled and spit at him. Eventually I calmed down enough that Magnet and Zigzag let go of me. X, Pit, Caveman and Zero were shoeing the crowd away. Lump rolled over in a bloody heap. And lastly I looked at Anne, who was curled up against the side of the building, with her head in her hands, sobbing quietly. Her tank top was back on, I assumed one of the guys helped her out. I almost lost it again when I saw how upset she was. Instead of losing my temper though, I crouched down in front of her and I almost cried when I saw her so upset. It was tearing me up. Without saying anything I picked her up bridal style and immediately she wound her arms tightly around and buried her face in my neck. I hated feeling her tears travel down my neck. I just wanted her to be ok. I would do anything for her to be ok. I said a silent prayer in my head that she would be alright. I didn't even care about myself. D-Tent didn't follow me into the tent, which I was grateful for. I wanted to be alone with her.

I set her down on my cot and had to pry her lose from my body so that we could both sit. Immediately though I pulled her back in my arms and onto my lap. The only thing I could think to do was hold her as close as possible. I was still so furious that I couldn't talk. Her quiet sobbing hadn't subsided much and I desperately wanted to make her tears go away. I kissed the top of her head and relished burying my face in her hair. Eventually I gained the ability to speak.

"Shh shh, it's ok baby girl. Don't cry. He's never gonna hurt you again. I swear I won't ever let anyone hurt you." I repeated this over and over, all the while whispering shh in her ear. Her sobbing eventually quieted but she still kept her face buried in my chest. Not that I minded of course. But suddenly I remembered that he hit her.

"Hey, Anne. Look at me." I gently nudged her to try to get her to look up at me but she merely buried her head deeper into my chest and snuggled closer. So I hooked my finger under her chin and lifted her face up. I could feel her stop breathing for a second.

"Aww sweetie." We both winced when I grazed a finger over the already dark purple and monstrous bruise on the side of her jaw. In an instant I was furious all over again. "I'm so sorry. I swear I kill him. I swear. I'm so sorry." At some point I didn't even realize what I was saying, words were pouring out of my mouth. I felt her hand graze my face and then a cold cloth press up against my nose.

"You're hurt." She said very shakily, still crying. But she obviously said it like it was her fault which couldn't have been further from the truth.

"It's fine. I didn't even notice."

"I'm really sorry." She started crying harder.

"No no, hey. It's not your fault." I wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumbs, kissed her forehead and made her look at me again. "Don't you ever think or say it was your fault, understand?"

She nodded her head but immediately made sure my nose wasn't bleeding anymore. I was touched that after all this she still wanted to make sure that I of all people was ok. I took the cold cloth from her hands and pressed it to her bruise. The whole time she never took her beautiful eyes off mine.

"Squid?" Her voice was so shaky, so unsure, timid and so quiet.

"Yeah?"

"I uh, um...thank you." And I received the best award of all when she reached up to kiss my cheek and once again bury herself next to me while I wrapped my arms as tight as I could around her.

**Anne's POV**

I was so scared and shaken, but I felt so safe at the moment. And Squid, god I can't even. That boy is amazing.

I still couldn't stop crying but I definitely had stopped sobbing. I felt Squid pull away again and hook his finger under my chin. I loved it when he did that. It was the most romantic gesture in the world.

"Hey Anne, please don't cry. Listen, I really care about you, like a lot, and I hate seeing you cry. Please, please tell me what I can do to make it better. I would do anything in the world. I want to make it better so badly." He was pleading with me, which at some level almost made me cry more.

"You...you really care about me?"

"Yeah, I uh, I guess I shoulda told you sooner, huh? And now I tell you at the worst possible time." He chuckled and shook his head. He looked away for a few moments then looked me right in the eyes again. "I really do care about you, and like you, a lot. And I understand if you don't feel the same way. You don't have to say..." He was so adorable when he rambled.

"I do care about you too. Quite a bit." Even though I was happy at the moment, I still couldn't stop crying. I was still really shaken up. I couldn't look at him, mostly because I was really self conscious. He didn't seem to mind because all he did was pull me into his arms again and held me awhile longer. Then he did the most unexpected thing. He leaned his head down, cupped my face with his hand and kissed me very softly and gently on the lips. His lips were a bit rough and chapped, but that made it all the better. It was simply brilliant. I can't think of any other way to describe it. When it ended, neither of us said anything. I couldn't help but smile though, despite everything.

"There it is." He was looking at me.

"What is?"

"That smile." He smiled softly, not his usual grin, and kissed my forehead again. I could definitely get used to this.

**Squid's POV**

I can't believe I actually worked up the guts to do that. I was pretty impressed with myself at the moment to be quite honest. And the fact that she cared about me too was too amazing for words. I am still trying to comprehend it. God above knows how stunning and wonderful that girl is. The weird part was that I had all these nice feelings, yet at the same time I still felt such a rage. I was so angry. It was weird, to be sure.

I still felt her sniffling, so I set out to reassure her.

"Everything is going to be ok. It's ok baby girl. I won't let anything happen to you."

After awhile I noticed that she had finally stopped crying and had fallen asleep. And it was the kind of sleep that you get from being so utterly exhausted. She literally cried herself to sleep. I don't blame her. I mean, an hour ago she almost got...well you know. And she was still so shaken up. Even in her sleep she clung to me for dear life, like she was still terrified. Not that I minded her clinging to me in such a way, but I hated knowing that it was because she was scared. At the same time, I felt honored that I was the one she clung to when she was frightened.

Eventually I too must have fallen asleep, because I woke up to shaking by Magnet and the guys staring at us.

"Aww look how precious."

"Someone get a picture, quick!"

"Is she ok?" Armpit said rather loudly.

"Shh, you'll wake her up." I whispered back to him.

"We brought you guys some dinner." X-ray set two sandwiches on the table next to my bed. Realizing how hungry I was, I grabbed one and scarfed it down. She still hadn't woken up which was surprising considering she was such a light sleeper. She really must have been exhausted.

I untangled myself from her and let her stay sleeping in my cot while I wandered over to the other side of the tent to talk to the guys. I basically gave them a run down on what had happened, except for the part where I finally admitted how much I cared about her and when I kissed her. They were all really worried.

"You should wake her up and make her eat something." X was usually right in these sorts of situations so I returned to where she was sleeping and gently shook her awake.

I leaned in close to her so the other guys wouldn't hear. I almost expected them to crowd around her as soon as she was awake, but luckily they gave her space. "Hey sweetheart, you need to eat something." I handed her the sandwich and she shook her head no.

"Yes, you have to." She half sat up and nibbled at the sandwich. Eventually she ate the whole thing. By that point most of the guys were already in bed and asleep. The rest were nearly asleep.

"Hey Squid? Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Of course. You don't ever have to ask." I crawled into bed next to her and wrapped my arms around her petite little frame. I realized then what a huge relief it was to be able to now act upon my feelings. It's not like we were dating, but at least we know knew how we felt. The official titles and what not could come later. Besides, I was now obligated to do this dating thing right since I had to go and spill all my feelings on her at the worst possible moment. Not that I minded that much. I kissed her quickly goodnight and for a last time reassured her that everything was going to be alright.


End file.
